Daniel Dubois gets new heavyweight opponent for August 29 defence of WBO International title

Daniel Dubois has seen his opponent change for his WBO International heavyweight title defence on August 29.

The Greenwich fighter will now take on Ricardo Snijders at BT Sport Studio.

Dubois, who also holds the British and Commonwealth belts, was due to face Eric Pfeifer in a behind-closed-doors showdown, but issues with the German’s medical have derailed those plans.

Dutch title holder Snijders (18-1, 8KOs) has jumped at the chance to gatecrash the world rankings.

Dubois, 22, has not boxed since December and needs to shake off any ring rust before his hotly-anticipated showdown against Joe Joyce, scheduled for London’s O2 on Saturday, October 24.

Promoter Frank Warren said: “Of course it’s a disappointment that we have had to make a late change, but the most important thing was getting Daniel a solid test.

“We’ve had Snijders training for weeks getting ready for this fight on the off chance there was an issue, and thank God we did.

“Pfeifer‘s team didn’t submit his MRI on time and given the current circumstances we couldn’t stand for the uncertainty or take the risk that the fight would be pulled at the last minute.

“Daniel hasn’t boxed since last December, some eight months ago. That’s a long time, especially for Daniel who has always been active.

“Daniel trained at home with his sister and younger brother during lockdown and he has been back in the gym with his trainer Martin Bowers for several weeks.

“Joe got an impressive win last month, so this is Daniel’s chance to show what he’s made of.

“Of course my nerves will be on edge a bit next week.

“They were until Joe came through against Michael Wallisch, and until Daniel’s arm is raised after the Snijders fight it will be the same.

“Snijders fancies the fight and was happy to say ‘yes’ and jump at the opportunity of his career. He’s coming up from cruiserweight and wants to follow in the footsteps of fighters like Usyk, Haye and Bellew.”

Warren rates Dubois as the finest prospect in the heavyweight division.

Dubois is ranked number three for Anthony Joshua’s WBO belt and is at seven for the WBC title that is held by his Frank Warren stablemate Tyson Fury.

Warren added: “Providing Daniel can solve this Dutch puzzle, we can push on with the Joyce fight and then we can hope for a world title fight next year as a mandatory contender.”